


Cherry Cola

by abbyss



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), Riverdale (TV 2017) RPF
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 02:20:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20685878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abbyss/pseuds/abbyss
Summary: "You like me? How could you? Most of the others don't seem like me a lot.", Cheryl said, her voice breaking mid-sentence as she felt tears froming in her eyes. "You are smart. You know what you want and how to get it. You can be funny and you are loyal and you are more talented than you think. That's why I like you. As I've said before: You are sensational"





	1. Chapter 1

Cheryl went to her bedroom immediately after she came back from Pop’s Chok’lit Shoppe where she and Toni Topaz, the Serpent girl with the pink hair, had spent the last 2 hours. Cheryl met her at the movie theater, where she wanted to see the newest movie about a boy struggling with his Coming Out. Originally, she had plant just to go out to watch the movie alone because everyone else kept talking about it and she desperately searched for a place to go, as far as possible from her home, Thistlehouse, where her mother was having another “meeting” with her “clients” which was something Cheryl could definitely not bear at this moment. But then, while she was waiting for the movie to start, with a Cherry Cola in hand, Toni came over to her and started a conversation which ended with them sitting next to each other during the film and Cheryl confessing to Toni that she actually felt really not okay. Something she had never really confessed to anyone, because no one really seemed to care.

Now, Cheryl sat on her bed, wondering what it was about Toni, that had caused her to trust her and open up to her about her feelings. She wasn’t really sure. Maybe it was because Toni had tried multiple times, even after Cheryl had rejected her offer at first. She knew that, at the beginning she had not been the nicest to the new Serpents when they arrived at Riverdale High School, but still Toni had tried to be nice to her these last weeks. Maybe this meant that Toni had not yet started to have something against her. Why else could it be that she acted so nicely to her?  
Cheryl lay down and closed her eyes. She felt exhausted. During the last year, her life had become utterly miserable. First, there had been Jasons escape from their family where she had helped him to flee, because he could not stand their parents anymore, especially their father who wanted Jason to take over the family business, which was, in fact, not with Maple Syrup, but with illegal transportation of heroine. Jason did not want to take over and decided to run away with his fiancé Polly Cooper. Cheryl helped, but when she found out Jason was dead she had regretted it ever since. She felt guilty, even though she was not his murderer, but if she had not helped him run away, would he had ever left and be killed? This question was torturing Cheryl every night, when she tried to fall asleep and hunted her in her dreams.

The second thing that had made her life horrible was her mother. Her mother had never been kind or caring to Cheryl. Jason had always been her favorite, without a doubt. After Jasons death her mother had started to blame her for it, even though her husband, Clifford Blossom, had murdered their son. Her mother had become even more cold-hearted towards her and treated her terribly. Almost every day, Cheryl suffered from her emotional and verbal abuse, even more than before and Cheryl hated her mother for it. But sadly there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t just move out. The only thing she could do was to avoid her mother - and also her “clients”.  
Cheryl opened her eyes again and saw her phone screen lighting up. She sat up and grabbed her phone. On her screen she saw a text message from an unknown number. “Hey, Bombshell. I just wanted to tell you, that I enjoyed spending the evening with you. I know you are having a hard time and I know it must have been difficult for you to talk about it, especially talking to me because we don’t really know each other but I am glad you did and if you feel the need to talk to someone again, I will listen” Cheryl stared at the screen, not knowing what to do now. After a few secs, another message appeared on her screen: “Oh, and in case you were wondering who this is and how I got your number: This is Toni and I asked Jugehad to give me your number”. Cheryl unlocked her phone and opened the messenger, ready to type an answer, but she did not know what to write… Could she actually trust Toni or was she playing with her like so many other people in her life had. She decided that she could not know this yet and just typed: “Thx, Cha Cha. But don’t think we are friends now, just because we went to the movies once and I told you some personal stuff. Just forget about that.” She looked at her answer for a few seconds, unsure if she should hit send or not but eventually she did.

Cheryl stood up. She turned around, facing the big round window and stared into the dark forest behind their house. Originally she had thought that this view was peaceful, but after a few months living in this house and seeing this never ending line of trees every single day, she found them creepy. In the night, when they looked dark and rustled mysteriously, she got afraid of them. They reminded her too much of the forest at Sweetwater River where she had last seen Jason. She got out of her thought when her phone buzzed again. Another message from Toni. Cheryl was a little afraid to read what it said. What if she had made a mistake and now Toni threatened to tell everyone about what Cheryl had just confessed to her. That she had been in love with her best friend in Junior High, Heather. She did not want everyone to find out about that. Not yet. Also, it was nobody else's business who Cheryl loved or had loved, because everyone just thought she was the loveless and mean It-Girl from Riverdale High. Or at least that was what Cheryl thought. Suddenly, she felt a very uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. She started to regret her answer to Toni’s previous message. Maybe she could have an actual chance to become friends with the Serpent girl, but now it was probably too late. She had become anxious and had taken out her anger on Toni… as she had always done when she felt bad. Take her feelings out on someone else. Maybe that was why she did not have friends…Cheryl decided that she would simply ignore the message. She could not take any more bad news right now. All she wanted to do at the moment was to lay down and sleep. This day had been emotionally difficult for her and she was tired. Cheryl took her phone and turned it off.

That night Cheryl had yet another nightmare, like almost every night. In her dream she was on the boat with Jason sitting across from her, rowing them across Sweetwater River. Everything looked peaceful. It was a sunny day, birds where chirping in the trees around the River and Jason smiled at Cheryl. Suddenly, there was a lightning in the distance and thunder followed soon after. Cheryl looked away from Jason, wondering what had caused the sudden weather change. Another lighting stroke, this time much closer and Cheryl began to panic. Being on a lake while there was a thunderstorm almost right above you was definitely not a great idea.  
“Jason, I think we should turn around and go back to the shore…The thunderstorm is coming closer.”, she said. Then she turned her head to Jason again and screamed. What she saw was not her smiling brother from just a few minutes ago, but instead was now a zombie version of Jason. He looked like the way he had when he was found dead in the water. He had a greenish blue skin, eyes staring at her without any sense of life in them and most shockingly he had a hole on his forehead with blood around it, right were their father had shot him.  
Cheryl was shocked and the only way out for her seemed to jump out of the boat into Sweetwater River. When she landed in the water, she tried to orientate herself but she could barely see her own hands. She tried to move, but the water was so cold that her body already started to feel numb. Slowly she tried to swim towards the nearest shore but suddenly grabbed her ankle and pulled her down under the icy cold water. It was Jason. Dead Zombie Jason. He grabbed her and pulled her further under the surface. Cheryls body needed air, soon, or she would die. She tried to get free from her brothers cold and dead hands but his grip was tight. She wasn’t strong enough. Her lungs screamed for air but there was nothing she could do to break free. Slowly, everything around her seemed to darken and her vision blurred. The last thing she saw was the face of her dead twin brother.  
She woke up with her right hand clutched at her throat and struggling to breath. Sweat covered her forehead and panic controlled her thoughts. She looked at her alarm clock. It was 3:12 am. Cheryl tried to calm herself down and decided what to do next. She didn’t really want to fall back asleep again. She was too afraid the dream she had would continue, but still she was tired. She decided that maybe simply lying down and trying to relax would be helpful. She lay back down and closed her eyes, desperately hoping that the nightmares would stay away at least for the rest of this night.

Cheryl woke up at again 6:30. Even though she had gone to bed pretty early last evening, she did not feel well-rested at all. Not after that nightmare. She wanted to stay in her comfy bed for the rest of the day and just skip school. But of course she couldn’t. After another 30 minutes that she had stayed in bed, her mother banged against the dark wooden door and angrily yelled: “Cheryl Marjorie Blossom! Get out of your bed, NOW or you are grounded!” This was something Cheryl definitely did not want. It would be another nightmare to not be able to leave the house when her mother was with her clients in the room above. “I am coming, mother. No need to yell at me just now!” Cheryl got up and went to her bathroom that was connected to her room and to take a shower but when she looked at her cock she realized she had to hurry if she wanted to be in school in time and decided to skip showering and also breakfast.  
When she arrived at school, it had already rang for the first time so Cheryl hurried up to her biology class. When she entered the room, nobody looked up. It was nothing new that she came late to her first class. The only one looking up and staring at Cheryl was Toni. She looked at Cheryl and gave her an inquiring look. Cheryl ignored her, strode past her and fell down in her seat. Even though she tried to focus on class, her thoughts always kept driving away and, most importantly, trying to avoid Toni after class because she was sure that Toni would try to talk to her. She decided, that running out of the room as soon as the bell would ring would be the best idea and so she hurried out of class and hid in the River Vixens changing room throughout the whole break. Her tactic worked until lunch, when she had no other option than going to the cafeteria and sit there because spending a whole hour in the changing room was not an option. She was not that desperate.

When she sat down at an empty table in the cafeteria and renewed her red lipstick, she realized someone sat down across from her. Toni. Great. Cheryl thought. I hurried out of the room an almost broke off my heel for nothing. Cheryl looked up and saw Toni staring at her, waiting for her to say something.  
“What do you want?” Cheryl asked.  
“Nothing in particular. I just wanted to give you company because eating lunch all alone would be pathetic, don’t you think?”  
“So why did you choose me to be your company? Couldn’t you just have gone to Jughead or someone so you wouldn’t be alone?” It was a desperate try to get Toni to leave by insulting her but obviously it did not work. Toni wasn’t even slightly impressed by Cheryl’s words.  
“Why are you trying to push me away Cheryl? What did I do to you? I tried to be nice to you because I think you are actually an amazing girl but you make it really difficult for me” Cheryl hesitated before she answered. She did not really have an answer to that question.  
“ I don’t know. Maybe I am just not used to this. Someone being nice to me, you know” She wasn’t sure why she had just admitted that last part. There was just something about Toni that wanted Cheryl to be honest to her.  
“And you really think that insulting me is the right reaction to that?”, Toni asked, raising her eyebrow inquiringly.  
“Probably not.”, Cheryl had to admit and stared down at her hands. Toni was not satisfied with that answer.  
“So then why are you doing it?”  
“I already said I don’t know. I guess it is just kind of a reflex.”  
“You should try to work on that. I don’t want to be rude to you”  
Cheryl didn’t know what to say to that. She was a little shocked that Toni still tried to be nice to her. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and tried to keep avoiding Toni’s stare but now more out of embarrassment for her previous behavior.  
“I am sorry. For being mean to you. I just did not know what to do. I felt overwhelmed” she finally managed to say.  
“It’s fine. I’ve been talked to in a worse way.”  
“When?”  
“Nothing important. Just… some Serpent thing, you know”, Toni responed, not wanting to talk about that any further. Silence rose between them once again. Suddenly, Cheryl’s stomach grumbled.  
“Haven’t you eaten yet?” Toni asked.  
“No, I didn’t have time for that this morning and I forgot my purse at home so I can’t not buy anything here.”, Cheryl confessed.  
“Okay. Waite a minute. I’ll get you something.”  
Before Cheryl could argue, Toni was already on her feet and on her way to the counter and Cheryl sat at the table, embarrassed that she could not afford food for herself. Cheryl watched her, trying to keep her view on the green Serpent symbol on the back of Toni’s leather jacket but she Toni got out of sight when a group of football players crossed the cafeteria. It felt weird and embarrassing that Toni was buying her food, but still…somehow she liked it, kind of. At least, it meant that Toni cared about her to some extent. Toni came back faster than Cheryl had expected.  
“Here, a blueberry muffin and a Cherry Cola.” She sat the two items down on the table in front of Cheryl. Cheryl didn’t reach out for them but instead simply stared for a moment.  
“You like blueberries right? Because if not then…”  
“No, no. Blueberries are just fine. Thank you” Cheryl started to unwrap her muffin and started eating. Toni stared at her yet again. And Cheryl tried to ignore that, yet again. She did not like being watched while she was eating.  
“Why are you always staring at me? Do I have lipstick on my teeth or what?”, she finally demanded to know and rolled her eyes, trying to hide how uneasy it made her. Toni chuckled.  
“No. I just like making you uncomfortable. You always act so though but just looking at you for more than 5 seconds makes you feel insecure. Fascinating”  
Cheryl rolled her eyes once more, but could not hold back a little grin. “I hate you.”  
“No, you don’t. You love me.” was Toni’s only response. Before Cheryl could say anything else Sweet Pea came over to their table.  
“Hey, Toni. Do you have a sec? Fangs and I could need your help.”  
Toni looked at Cheryl, not sure if she should go and let Cheryl sit there on her all alone or not. Sweet Pea looked at her, waiting and expecting Toni to answer.  
“Uhm… Sure. Excuse me Cheryl. I’ll come back as soon as possible.”  
And with that Toni left and Cheryl sat there, alone and already missing the company of Toni Topaz.


	2. Chapter 2

Cheryl didn’t see Toni again that day at school. After her training with the River Vixens she tried to loiter as much as possible, but eventually she had no other choice than to go home. When she came to their driveway, seeing a bright red car standing their with an unknown license plate Cheryl sighed and felt the nausea spread in her stomach. An unknown car in front of their house could only mean one thing: her mother had company. Cheryl slowly walked up to their front door, trying to prepare herself for what waited for her inside, which would be, of course, not very pleasant. When she entered the dark house, the first thing she heard was a squeaking. From the second floor. From a bed. Cheryl frowned and wanted to leave the house again, but where should she go? For lack of options, she went up to her room as quickly as possibly and searched for her headphones to block out the noise coming from the room above. When she had finally found them, she lay down on her bed again, and tried to hold back tears. She felt hopeless. She did not know what to do. How could she ever escape this nightmare at home? How could her life possibly become better? The only good thing of the day seemed to be her lunch with Toni. While she way laying down, motionless, her thoughts wandered to Toni. I wish she were here with me… Cheryl thought. The thought that Toni could be with Jughead and Betty or someone like that made her uneasy. Kind of jealous, even. She kind of missed Toni. Even though they had not spent that much time together yet, she already started to miss Toni’s presence when she was not around her. Spending time with the Serpent girl had always been a nice distraction from all her problems, and additionally, Toni was kind of funny. She could make Cheryl laugh, something that did not happen very often lately. She was thankful for what Toni had done for her until now even though she would probably never admit that. Cheryl wondered if she should text Toni and ask her if she had time to meet up but she didn’t. I don’t want her to think I miss her or something. Overall, we still don’t know each other very well. I don’t want to appear creepy. With that Cheryl turned off her phone yet again and instead of listening to music she started to watch a movie.

The next two days were the weekend. Cheryl’s thought drifted to Toni more and more She just did not have anything else to do. All she did was stay in her room, trying to make time go faster, which of course did not work. Instead, time seemed to slow down more and more. Finally, after another hour where she had tried to find an idea how her time could be spent, boredom won and Cheryl decided to text Toni.  
“Hey Cha Cha. I’ve been wondering if you wanted to meet up tonight?” She stared at the screen, waiting for an answer. Toni texted back quicker than expected.  
“Sure. Got an idea what we could do?”  
“Maybe you could come over and we could watch a movie or something…”  
“Sounds good. When should I come over?”  
“8 pm?”  
“Great. See U at 8 :)” That last message caused Cheryl’s mood to lighten up a bit. She even felt a new, kind of nervous feeling in her stomach when she thought about Toni coming over in less than 4 hours. But what should she do until then? She glanced around her room. She had never considered herself a messy person but at that moment she thought her room looked untidy. The pillow on her huge white king-size bed were crumpled, the lamp on her right bedside table was not working anymore - the light bulb broke months ago- there where clothes lying on the dark wood floor and the plant on her window sill seemed to have died without her noticing it. With a light smile on her face Cheryl went downstairs to search for a new lightbulb.

Toni arrived promptly at 8:00 pm. Cheryl opened the door and looked at Toni. Toni wore her serpents jacket as usual. Under that Cheryl could see a dark grey shirt and a long necklace with a little snake. Her pants were black, also as usual, as well as her leather boots. Her pink hair was in waves and looked like Toni had put extra effort in them that day. After a while Toni asked: “Uhm… Are you going to let me in or are we going to watch the movie on your front porch?” Cheryl let her in and led her up to her room.  
“Which movie do you wanna watch? Netflix is offering a lot of choices…” Cheryl asked.  
“Wow, we are just spending time together for the third time and you already want to do Netflix and Chill. If I had known that I would have brought something else than Cherry Cola” Toni chuckled. Cheryl blushed, her eyes widened with shock.  
“What, no. I didn’t… I just wanted to… Wait, you brought Cherry Cola?” Cheryl said, desperately trying to hide her embarrassment.  
“Yeah. I figured that you liked that stuff a lot so I thought it would be a nice gesture to bring you some as your guest.”  
“I still do not understand…Why are you this nice to me? Honestly…”  
“You should really stop questioning everything other people do. It’s not good for you. Just go with it and accept that I made the effort and went to the supermarket to buy you some Cherry Cola, Cheryl Bombshell.”, Toni responded teasingly.  
“I don’t think you are in the position to tell me what I should do or not but still, I appreciate your effort, Topaz” Cheryl tried to hold back a grin, but she just couldn’t. Toni simply seemed to have that effect on her. They both sat down on Cheryl’s bed, trying to find a comfortable position to look at the big TV opposite of the big bed. After a while, they eventually decided which movie to watch and sat next to each other in silence. Cheryl tried to focus on the movie but somehow she wanted to initiate a conversation. She just wasn’t sure what she should say. She eventually decided to say something that she thought was appropriate and overdue.  
“Thank you.” Cheryl said quietly, so Toni could hardly hear it.  
“You already thanked me for the Cherry Cola, you remember?” Toni looked at her raising an eyebrow and having an amused look on her face.  
“Yes, I do remember. I thanked you for everything you did. Not only the Cherry Cola.”, she admitted.  
“You don’t have to thank me Cheryl. I did this because I wanted to”  
“Yeah, I know. But still I am thankful for that. Just accept this Thank you, okay? I don’t say that a lot. Don’t make me regret that I said it to you.”  
“Okay. Thank you is accepted.”, Toni said.  
“You know…I didn’t have anyone to talk to for a very long time. I had never told anyone about me and Heather because it hurt to much thinking about it and I also felt ashamed, but I felt like I could tell you. It was kind of nice to finally talk to someone about it.”  
“Cheryl, there is no need to feel ashamed about being in love with another girl. Forget your mother. She doesn’t understand it.”  
“But you do. Right?”  
“Are you asking me if I’m into girls?”, Toni said, again rasising an eyebrow in question.  
“Um…not directly, but are you?” Cheryl would not admit it, but she was curious about that. She had heard some rumors but she didn’t knew if they were true.  
“That’s pretty directly, Bombshell. But yes, I am.”  
Something in Cheryl’s stomach turned. Somehow she was relieved to hear that. But why was that? She wasn’t exactly sure. Why should it bother her, if Toni was into girls, right? Toni’s just a friend, but it made Cheryl a little more excited, nevertheless.  
“Cool.”, was all she could answer.  
“Cool?”  
“Yes, indeed. Cool.”

During the next weeks, Cheryl and Toni spent more and more time together. And Cheryl had enjoyed it every single time. Cheryl had asked Toni if she would come to her father’s will reading to which Toni agreed without any hesitation. Toni had even stayed for dinner afterwards with Cheryl’s new found uncle, which was more than a little awkward. She knew that her mother hated her even more now after she found out about Cheryl and Toni’s new friendship, but Cheryl would not let that stop her from seeing the Serpent girl. She felt like Toni had become her best friend and that she could trust her sincerely. Even the occasional silence during their meet-ups didn’t feel uncomfortable or awkward anymore. When Toni was around, Cheryl just always felt better, no matter what was going on at home and how badly her mother treated her. Toni made her forget that just being there and occasionally listening to Cheryl’s problems without bothering. Toni actually loved to help Cheryl as much as she could. So when one evening, it all became too much for Cheryl after her mother had again verbally abused her and threatened her to send her away, Cheryl called Toni.

“Hey, Bombshell. What’s up?”, Toni greeted her in a happy tone.  
“Toni, can you please come over? I don’t know what to do, my mother keeps threatening me…” Cheryl tried to say between her sobs, tears running down her cheeks. She sat next to her bed, on the cold and hard wooden floor, one arm wrapped around her knees while the other held the phone to her ear.  
“Cheryl, what happened?” Toni answered, alarmed that something bad must have happened to make Cheryl cry like that. Cheryl led out another sob.  
“Cheryl, please answer me. What is wrong? Please, say something you are worrying me.” Toni begged her.  
“Toni, please help me. I can’t stay here anymore. I hate my mother and the nightmare she has made of my life” Cheryl cried.  
“ Okay, tell me where you are. I’ll come over immediately.”  
“I am at home. My mother is here…”, Cheryl whispered into the phone.  
“Okay. Just stay there, I am on my way.”  
“Please hurry.”  
“I will. Wait for me at the door.”  
“No, you can’t ring. My mothers here and has locked me in my room. I can’t open the door and she won’t let you in, I am sure.”  
“Okay. uhm…open your bedroom window. I’ll climb up there.”  
“Please be careful.”  
“Always. I am there in 10 minutes.”  
When Toni arrived, promptly 10 minutes later, she found Cheryl sitting on the floor with her head rested on her knees. She climbed through the round window, trying to be as silent as possible to avoid that Cheryl’s mother heard her. After she had successfully entered the dark room, she went over to Cheryl and kneeled gently next to her on the little red rug.  
“Cheryl, look at me.” Cheryl only led out another heartbreaking sob.  
“Cheryl, look at me”, Toni whispered again, her heart aching by the sight of Cheryl being feeling such pain. Slowly, Cheryl lifted her head and looked right into Toni’s calming brown eyes, tears dripping down her face onto the dark wooden floor. She tried to hold back her sobs, but she just couldn’t. Toni didn’t force her to speak. Instead, she sat down next to her, leaning against the bed behind them and wrapping her arms around her. Cheryl thankfully leaned onto her, resting her head on Toni’s shoulder. Slowly Toni started to run her hands over Cheryl’s hair to calm her.  
“I hate her Toni. I want her to get out of my life. My life has been a nightmare ever since Jason tried to run away but know my mother keeps making it worse. I don’t know how long I can keep doing that…Did you know that I had already tried to commit suicide once? Last year after I found out that my father had killed Jason…” Cheryl looked up, waiting for her reaction. Toni looked at her, shocked by the new information. She had known that Cheryl felt bad but not that it had been so bad that she wanted to die. She frowned at the thought that so many people kept hurting Cheryl and she had not been there to protect her. Cheryl did not deserve to be treated like that.  
“I…I didn’t know.”, Toni stuttered.  
“Archie and his friends saved me. I was on the lake while it was frozen and wanted to break through the ice and drown. In the place where Jason had been found, but it was terrifying. Before I passed out, my last thought was: I don’t want to die. After Archie saved me I was glad that I was alive and thought maybe I am not so lonely as I think. After all they came to save me. But shortly after that they stopped caring again, ignored me most of the time and I felt left out. I never got help and nobody cared how I felt and that makes me feel even more miserable. I still don’t want to die but I also don’t want to live. Not like that. What am I supposed to do Toni?” Cheryl said, suddenly a lot calmer than before. Having said all that aloud seemed to have helped her clear her mind at least a little. She leaned in closer to Toni.  
“I am so sorry Cheryl. If we had only met earlier I could have helped you more…Is there any chance that you could move out of here?”, Toni said with such a caring tone, that made Cheryl felt that she meant it, which was not something Cheryl was used to. Most people did not use such kindness around her.  
“I don’t think so. I don’t have the money for it.”  
“Do you have any other relative you could live with?”  
“No, they don’t seem to like me. They also kind of blame me for Jason’s death and they also don’t live in Riverdale.”  
“What if you go with me to my trailer for tonight? I mean I live alone there and I have enough space… If you need a place to stay you can stay with me if you want and tomorrow we will see if we can find a longterm solution.” Cheryl looked up, surprised by the offer Toni just made.  
“Really? I would do anything to get away from here as soon as possible”  
“Okay, then pack your bag and come with me.” Toni helped Cheryl stand up. After she asked where Cheryl kept her bag, she put everything in that Cheryl said she needed. Cheryl just sat on her bed, watching Toni get all her stuff together, feeling paralyzed, not being able to completely get her mind to work normally and not being able to really do anything else than sitting there and trying calm herself down.  
“Okay, I think I got everything. Are you ready?” Cheryl stood up and faced Toni who looked at her expectantly.  
“I have never been more ready to leave this house.” Together they climbed out of the window of Cheryls bedroom and made their way towards the Sunnyside Trailer Park.


	3. Chapter 3

When they arrived at Toni’s trailer, the first thing Toni did, was offering Cheryl a Cherry Cola.  
“Do you have an unlimited supply of those or what is it with these Cokes?”, she tried making her usual comments, but she didn’t quite mean it.  
“No, but since I met you and always saw you drinking them I tried them as well and I have to admit, I actually really like them. Plus, in case you were coming over I would always want to have some here because I know that you love them.”   
“This is…Thank you, I appreciate it.”  
“So, what do you want to do now? Do you want to sleep?”  
“Actually, I would like to stay awake a little longer. I don’t think I could sleep right now. Can’t we just sit on your couch or something? I don’t want to feel alone now.”  
“Okay.”  
The two of them went to the left side of the rather small trailer where Toni’s Couch and a little TV were. The living room wasn’t big but it looked comfy with the red sofa, the many pillows and a soft blanket. Cheryl curled up on the sofa with the blanket. When Toni sat down next to her Cheryl leaned closer to her, resting her head on Toni who seemed to be a little surprised at first, but did not interfere. Cheryl closed here eyes and just enjoyed the silence and Toni’s company. They sat in silence a little longer until Toni said:  
“You know, I really like you Cheryl. You are important to me and you are not alone. I am there for you.” Cheryl changed her position so she could see Toni’s face. In that she saw plain worry and empathy.  
“You like me? How could you? Most of the others don’t seem like me a lot.”, Cheryl said, her voice breaking mid-sentence as she felt tears forming in her eyes.   
“You are smart. You know what you want and how to get it. You can be funny and you are loyal and you are more talented than you think. That’s why I like you. As I’ve said before: You are sensational.”  
“This was the nicest thing someone has ever said to me.”, Cheryl responded, brushing the single tear away that had found its way down to her chin.  
“You know, you aren’t that bad either, TT. I have to admit that at first I didn’t really like you and I had a lot of prejudices about the Serpents, but you made me change that view. You helped me when no one else did and you helped me figure out who I am. You made me comfortable and I told you things nobody else knows. And for that I like you, too.” Toni stared back at Cheryl. Cheryl looked away from Toni’s eyes to her lips and when Toni realized where Cheryl’s gaze lingered she leaned in and kissed her. Cheryl didn’t know what was happening. Her mind just seemed to stop working the second Toni’s lips connected with hers. She was simply started and had not seen it coming, but still, she didn’t shy away. Instead, Cheryl leaned in further and moved her lips more forcefully, but shortly after Toni stopped and leaned back into the pillow on the couch, a little smile forming on her face.  
“Why did you stop?” Cheryl asked while trying to hide the sadness in her voice. She hadn’t wanted that the kiss stopped so fast. She already missed the feeling of Toni’s lips on hers. The kiss had not been long, but it was what Cheryl ha needed in that moment. The fact that Toni had kissed her gave here such calm and consolation. It brought her a little closer to her usual self. The Cheryl that was not crying in front of others and the Cheryl who loved teasing others.

“Because I would like to breathe, you know. Not dying yet would be great because then I could spend more time with you.” Toni answered. The grin on her face grew even bigger and made Cheryl blush because she realized that her questions seemed pretty stupid, which, much for Cheryls discomfort, appeared to amuse Toni quite a lot.  
“Stop grinning like that, Topaz. Nothing funny happened.”  
“Of course not. But you look cute when you blush.” , Toni teased and looked at Cheryl lovingly, resting her head on the pillow that lay on the top of the couch. Even though Cheryl loved receiving compliments, this comment made her feel uneasy. She wasn’t used to get compliments from people who actually liked and cared about her. The most compliments she got were from some strangers who commented under her Instagram pictures. So in that moment this was a very new experience and therefor Cheryl didn’t know how to respond appropriately. Once more. Something about Toni just made her speechless over and over again. Finally she managed to say:  
“Where am I supposed to sleep tonight? I am tired and I need my full 8 hours of beauty sleep.”

Toni stood up, took Cheryl’s hand into her own and led her towards her small bedroom in the back of her trailer.  
“You can sleep in my bed. I can stay on the couch.” Toni said softly.  
“Isn’t there enough space for two people? I mean we could share if you don’t mind?”, Cheryl suggested.  
“Okay. Um…Do you want some of my clothes for sleeping or do you want to keep on yours?”  
“Something more comfortable would be nice.”  
“Okay, wait a minute. I’ll get you something.” Toni turned around and went over to the closet that was on the other side of the room. As she walked over, her back turned to Cheryl she could feel that Cheryl gaze was following her.   
“You like what you see, Bombshell?”, Toni said teasingly without turning around to face her.  
“God, why do you have to be so annoying Topaz?”, Cheryl answered while rolling he eyes. Toni laughed, grabbed a black t-shirt she thought would fit Cheryl and went back over to the Blossom girl.   
“Here, I think that should fit.” Cheryl took the shirt without another comment and started to change out of her own clothes. Toni despairingly tried to avoid watching Cheryl strip off her clothes, bur still she couldn’t prevent some peeks, because honestly who did not want to see Cheryl Blossom in only her lingerie? She simply hoped Cheryl would not realize but of course she did.  
“Well, do you like what you see?” Cheryl asked mockingly.  
“Touché.” Toni admits and chuckled.   
Cheryl sat down on Toni’s bed and pulled the shirt over her head, then lay down and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. Toni quickly changed her clothes as well, lay down on the other side of the bed and grabbed the other end of the blanket that Cheryl had already hogged. Cheryl turned around facing Toni and moved closer to her, so Toni could have a bigger piece of the blanket. Toni felt a little uncomfortable and did not know how to react or how close she should lie to the other girl but Cheryl answered that question for her by moving closer for another inch and nuzzling her head on Toni’s chest and pulling her right arm around Toni’s waist. Toni felt a little surprised but did not restrain.  
“I hope that’s okay.”, Cheryl mumbled, already with her eyes closed and a sleepy tone in her voice.  
“It is.”, Toni answered, cuddled up against Cheryl and closed her eyes.

The next morning, when Cheryl woke up after the alarm on her phone went off and for a short moment wondered where she was. She looked around the small bedroom with its grey walls and a window on the right side. Right, I am at Toni’s trailer. Cheryl remembered. She turned to the left, to Toni’s side of the bed but the serpent was nowhere to be seen. Cheryl stood up, left the bedroom behind and went toward the kitchen area but Tonis wasn’t there either. Confused, Cheryl checked her phone to see if Tonis had left her a message to tell her where he had headed to but there was no message. Also, there wasn’t even a single call or message from her mother which was odd. She had to had noticed that Cheryl left the evening before. Maybe her mother had decided that she just simply cared where her only remaining child had gone in the middle of the night. The realization, even though it wasn’t surprising, hurt Cheryl. Maybe it’s for the better. Better no message than another mean one.   
Cheryl decided to take her remaining time alone in Tonis trailer to look around a little. She inspected the little kitchen area. The kitchen was white or at least had been in its earlier life. Now it had turned a little yellow or beige. There were 2 wall cupboard over a grey countertop an oven, a sink and a stove. On the counter were some mugs and plated stacked and waiting to be cleaned. Next to the oven was a fridge in the same color as the rest of the kitchen. On it were various photos pinned to the door with small magnets. Cheryl moved closer to take a better look at the photos.  
On the first one, up in the left corner she saw Toni at the age of around 10. The little girl was smiling into the camera and wore a smaller version of a Serpents leather jacket. Her now pink hair was a lot shorter in the picture and only reached to her shoulders. On her right, was a man around the age of 40 with dark black hair and the same smile on his face as little Toni. His right hand rested on Tonis shoulder and his other hand on the back of the women who stood next to him. She too smiled into the camera and looked happy. Cheryl stared at the woman and was irritated by how much she looked like Toni. Their faces seemed so alike that it was undeniable that these two were mother and daughter. Suddenly Cheryl realized that Toni had not mentioned her parents even once during all the time they have been friends now and also Toni had said that she lived alone, so where were her parents? A terrible feeling started to form in Cheryl stomach and she wondered what horrible thing had happened to Toni’s parents…

Cheryl moved her gaze on to the other photos that were pinned to the fridge. Most of them looked as if Toni had made them herself. Cheryl new that she loved photography. On some pictures she saw flower, on other there were motorbikes. Then on one she saw Sweetwater River on a beautiful summer day and on another she saw a deer in the forest around the river. Suddenly she heard the roaring of a motorbike outside and saw Toni coming back.   
“I’ve brought us breakfast from Pop’s” Toni informed her when she entered the kitchen and set the bag on the wood table. She went on to get two plates out of the cupboard and set the food on the table as well as two cups of Coffee. She sat down on the chair and waited for Cheryl to do the same. Cheryl sat down across from her and both of them started eating in silence. Cheryl was still thinking about he picture on the fridge of Toni with her parents and wondered if she should bring it up. What if it’s a sensitive topic and Toni does not want to talk about it? But in the end, Cheryl’s curiosity won.  
“What happened to your parents? I’ve seen the picture on your fridge and I wondered where they are and why you never speak of them…” she inquired softly. Toni looked up, a little surprised by the question. She was not used to talk about her parents. She usually hung out with other Serpents and none of them ever asked because they all new what had happened. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell Cheryl about it but she figured it would only be fair considering what she knew about Cheryl’s life and family. She took a deep breath and said:  
“They died. They died when I was 12. A weapon delivery went wrong. They got into a trap and got shot.” she explained, trying to avoid Cheryl’s gaze.  
“I am sorry, Toni. I know how much that hurts” Cheryl said, trying to put as much empathy and comfort in her voice as possible.  
“You don’t have to feel sorry. It’s fine. I am over it. Let’s just don’t talk about it, okay?”  
“Okay… Sorry if I opened an old wound” Cheryl tried to apologize. She knew how much it hurt when someone reminded her of what she had lost.  
“No, it’s okay. I knew that this would probably come up at some point, but I think right now we have better problems to deal with for example: what do you want to do next?”   
Good question, Cheryl thought.  
“Go to school? I mean it’s Thursday so I probably should go there.”, she responds, trying to avoid the real problem that is her mother. “Oh and since we are already talking about it, could you lend me your chemistry notes? I mist the last class and the exam is coming closer.”  
“Cheryl…you know that’s not what I meant. What about your mother? Do you want to talk to her? Maybe you should and maybe you could…”  
“No. I don’t want to talk to her. She won’t listen anyway. She didn’t even tried to call me or send me a message last night even though she must have realized I left. She just doesn’t care where I am or if I am okay, Toni. I doubt that she would care about what I have to say about her behavior.”, Cheryl said bitterly, her voice full of anger and sorrow.   
“Maybe I should talk to her and tell her that if she wouldn’t treat you better soon it might be possible that some certain Serpents showed up and her house…”, Toni suggested. Cheryl laughed a little.  
“As much as I enjoy the thought of my mother finding some gang members in her beloved house, I don’t think that is a good idea.”  
“What do you want to do then instead?”  
“As I said before. I am going to school and after that I go home.” Cheryl tried to stay confident, but her voice started shaking at the thought of going back home alone to find her mother. Toni sensed her discomfort and saw the fear in Cheryl’s eyes.  
“Should I come with you as emotional support?”, she asked gently. Cheryl was thankful that Toni offered this. Secretly, she had hoped that she could get Toni to accompany her but she hadn’t been sure if she should ask her herself.  
“That would be kind, thank you.


	4. Chapter 4

At 7.30, the two of them left Toni’s trailer and Toni drove them to school. Before they could leave, Toni had lent Cheryl some of her clothes because Cheryl had insisted that there was no possible way that she would wear the same clothes to school for two days in a row. So Toni and Cheryl had stood in front of Toni’s wardrobe while Cheryl found something that would be an appropriate replacement for her own clothes. After what seemed like half an hour, Cheryl had finally decided to take Toni’s black mesh see-through shirt and a black leather skirt. Toni had picked a black shirt, a pink and black flannel that she tied around her waist, some black pants and her Serpents jacket as usual.  
When they arrived at school together on Toni’s motorbike, they automatically attracted the attention form all the other students outside. It was a new view to see their It-Girl Cheryl Blossom and the new Serpent member together when at their first meeting in school Cheryl had publicly announced that she does not approve of the Serpents coming to her school. On their way inside Riverdale High School, Cheryl got pretty annoyed by the glances she got from the other students. Usually, she enjoyed being in the center of attention, but she had the impression that whenever she was with Toni that it was more private and therefore, right now she didn’t want others to observe their interactions. So eventually she snapped “Why do you all keep staring?” as she strode past them into the class room. 

Until lunch, it had spread through the whole school that Cheryl and Toni had arrived at school together and the wildest theories had come up for why that had happened, much to Cheryl discomfort. When she came into the students room with Toni at her side, she found Jughead, Betty, Archie and Veronica as well as Kevin and Josie on the sofas. They all looked up when they had realized she entered.  
“What’s up Cheryl?”, Josie asked.  
“Not much.”  
“Are you sure? Because I saw you and Toni come to school together and that seems to be pretty new to me and also I have heard the craziest theories, so talk Cheryl. How did it come to that?”, Kevin demanded.  
“Toni get along pretty well and she offered me a ride to school. That is all.”  
“Aren’t those Tonis’s clothes?” Veronica asked. Cheryl tried to remain her posture. She crossed her arms in defense and tried to hide the blush that was rising in her cheeks.  
“You’re right Veronica. These definitely are Toni’s clothes.” Kevin agreed, his eyes wide with surprise and amusement and a big grin on his face. Right in this moment Toni came in.  
“What’s going on guys?” she asks while she stepped closer and then stops next to Cheryl, looking at her with an inquiring look but also with some kind of worry which of course didn’t remain unnoticed.  
“We had just been wondering the clothes Cheryl is wearing aren’t in fact yours.” Kevin explained to her.  
“Oh..” Toni looked at Cheryl and waited for an answer. She wasn’t sure if Cheryl would like to let them now that these were Toni’s and that she had spent the night at her trailer, so she decided it would be the best to let her answer.  
“Well, lonely boy, yes these are in fact the clothes of Toni and not mine and before you ask further questions I am willing to clarify the situation myself.” Cheryl announced and receiving everyone’s undivided attention.  
“I spent the night at Toni’s and because it is not acceptable to wear the same clothes in public for two days in a row I had no other option than wearing her clothes.”, she explicates.  
“Sounds like a valid argument.”, Kevin responded.  
“Wait…Toni, so you and Cheryl spent the night together? At Sunnyside Trailer park”, Jughead asked clearly confused how Cheryl had gotten there because Sunnyside was not the typical terrain of a Blossom.  
“Yeah, why so surprised Jug? You are not the only one who gets along with some North Siders.”, Toni replied.  
Jughead was just about to answer when suddenly Kevin audibly took a deep breath, wide eyes as he realized something.  
“Guys, did you realize that they do not say that they are friends? They only say that they “get along pretty well””, he says. “Do you think what I think? Do you think they are more than friends or is it just me and my desperate wish for more queer representation at Riverdale High?”  
Everyone seemed to move their heads into Cheryl’s and Toni’s direction at the same moment. Kevin looked at them, a hopeful expression on his face while the others watched them with an expecting look. 

Cheryl felt driven into a corner. What should she respond? She and Toni had kissed, yes. She liked Toni a lot. That was true as well And it also seems like Toni likes her a lot, too. But were they actually more than friends? They hadn’t exactly talked about it even thought it was kind of obvious that they both secretly wanted to be more than friends. At least Cheryl wanted that. She had come to that realization just in that moment and it kind of made sense to her. Toni had never once failed to make her feel good or at least better and that was something Cheryl did not want to miss. And Toni had made the first move on her. She was the one who initiated the kiss they had last night, so probably there was a chance that Toni liked her back. Why else would she be so kind and caring towards her? While Cheryl had that realization Toni watched her in expectation. She sure knew what she wanted and what she would answer to Kevin’s question if it were up to her. She wanted to be with Cheryl but she also didn’t want to pressure her into something she was not ready for. That was why, again, she left the answer up to Cheryl.  
“As much as I admire your sudden interest in my life, Kev, I don’t think it is any of your business.” With that she turned around and strode towards the door.   
“Come on, Topaz. I need a Cola from the cafeteria.” 

Toni followed Cheryl to the Cafeteria and sat across from Cheryl at an empty table. Neither of the two knew what to say next, even though both were well aware of the fact that a certain conversation was very much needed. Finally, Cheryl broke the silence.  
“I think we should talk about what we are TT.”, she asked quietly.  
“Yeah, I think so. Uhm… so what do you think this is?”, Toni replied while she kept her gaze fixed on Cheryl.  
“I am not sure what this is. But I think I am sure what I want it to be. And you?”, Cheryl said softly.  
“I guess I know, too.” Toni smiled at her and took Cheryl’s hand in her own, intervening their fingers. Cheryl started moving her fingers around, playing with Toni’s.   
“Perfect”, she replied as a big smile spread across her face.   
“Can I still have your chemistry notes? I meant it when I said I missed class and I really don’t want to fail that, but I am absolutely miserable when it comes to chemistry. Do you think you could help me get better? Or maybe I should ask Kevin if he could help us…”, Cheryl asked after a while. Toni reached out for her bag, grabbed her notebook and gave it to her.  
“Really? I don’t think we need help. Our chemistry already is good, don’t you think?”, Toni grinned.  
“Wow, did you really just make a joke about chemistry? What is wrong with you, Topaz?”, Cheryl replied but clearly trying to hold back laughter.   
“Fine, I’ll help you.”, Toni finally agreed. Together, they checked their notes and did their homework together. It was fun, even though it was homework, but they did it together which made it a 100% better. Toni wanted to stay in the peaceful moment for a little longer but she knew they had to plan what they would do later when they went to Thistlehouse. Eventually, she asked:  
“So what about your mother? What will you say to her?” Cheryl seemed to have anticipated that question. Still, she did not look too pleased to have this conversation. Her smile faded almost immediately after Toni had spoken those words.  
“Hm… I haven’t really thought about that yet.”, she admitted. Instead, she had thought about Toni practically all morning. It just was a lot more pleasant to think about her than her mother, without a doubt.  
“Is there anything you can threaten her with so that she won’t have any other option than be nice to you?”, Toni inquired.  
“I don’t think that she would every respect be, let alone be actually feel threatened by me…”  
“Wait, I got an idea. You earned half of your father’s money, right? And your Nana earned Thistlehouse. So your mother technically does not own Thistlehouse and has no right to live there. She only had Thornhill but that’s ruined. Threaten her and tell her that you and Nana Rose want her to leave. She has to. You two are the only reason she is allowed to stay there so just kick her out. It’s your right to do that after all she has done.”, Toni suggested, obviously convinced that this would be an effective plan.  
“I doubt that she will just leave…” Cheryl still had her doubts concerning this plan.  
“Unless you threaten to reveal some family secret. Is there anything you could use against her?”, Toni suggested.  
“Oh, yes. There is”, Cheryl said, a devious smile on her face. Suddenly, she was not so sure that her previous doubts were still justified.

After school the two of them drove to Thistlehouse and found Cheryl’s mother in the dining room, not even slightly happy to see her only child come back home.  
“Cheryl. I see, you found your way back here with this person.”, Penelope said with the usual disparaging tone in her voice as she saw her daughter and the Serpent girl. Cheryl had expected nothing else than that kind of reaction.   
“Quit it, mother. Toni has been nothing but caring towards me, unlike you.”, she   
“Oh Cheryl, dear, are you still trying to play the victim after all you have done?”  
“What I have done? You were the one abusing me and blaming me for everything miserable that happened to you and I am not going to tolerate this any longer.”, Cheryl said to her in an incredibly calm tone.  
“God, what do you want Cheryl?”, Penelope spit, the anger rising in her voice.  
“I want Thistlehouse all to myself and my Nana. Start packing, mommy.”  
“Do you really think I am going to leave just like that, Cheryl? Oh you should know me better than that.”, her mother teased.  
“I do. And because of that I am giving you a choice: Stay in Thistlehouse and everyone will find out what really happened in that barn to Daddy or leave and I will keep quit. It’s your choice. Plus, if you decide to stay I am sure that Toni’s friends would offer to help remove you from this house.”, Cheryl declared as Toni nodded in the background to make sure Penelope understood that she would actually come back to her with the Serpents.  
Penelope looked at her in shock as she had never expected Cheryl to actually threaten her. She knew that she had to give in eventually. She would do everything to keep that secret from the barn hidden. But Penelope was not ready to say that out loud, not if there was still the possibility of a different solution. She would not give in to her deviant daughter.   
“You are insane, Cheryl.”, she declared while shaking her head in disbelief. Cheryl glanced at her mother up and down, raising her eyebrow in question as she said:   
“Like mother like daughter, isn’t it?”  
“Do you really think you can win this game? You won’t. I am not going anywhere. Your little revenge fantasy? Never going to happen. And now, leave this house. You aren’t welcome here any longer, you ungrateful child”, Penelope snarled.  
“You think you have won this round, mother. You may have won the battle, but you won’t win the war. Be sure: I’ll come back.”, Cheryl declared, stepping closer to her mother so they were now standing face to face. “And I’ll end you.”


	5. Chapter 5

That afternoon, Cheryl and Toni decided that it would be the best if Cheryl stayed at Thistlehouse. Cheryl thought it would make a point. Maybe her mother would actually take her serious for once in her life if she saw that Cheryl was not going to give in. Cheryl secretly prayed that it would work out and her mother would just leave. No matter where she went. Most importantly she should just be somewhere were Cheryl wasn’t. Cheryl had never considered herself religious, but she knew she didn’t really have a plan besides threatening her mother, so it just needed to work out and at this point Cheryl was ready to try anything. Even if it involved praying.   
Toni, not wanting to let Cheryl alone with her mother, stayed there with her. They didn’t do anything special that evening, just some homework. When it was late, and time to go to bed, they both lay down in Cheryl’s big bed. Cheryl lay down on the right side of her bed, flat on her back. Toni lay down on her side, her head resting in her right hand, so she could face Cheryl. Cheryl closed her eyes and said: “Good night, TT.”, ignoring Toni’s stare. Toni smiled, leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss on Cheryl’s lips.   
“Good night.”, Toni said too.  
Cheryl’s eyes opened abruptly, looking at Toni with a surprised expression on her face.  
“What?”, Toni asked.  
“Nothin…I…I’m just surprised, that’s all.”, Cheryl admitted.  
“You are my girlfriend now, Cheryl. That means I can kiss you whenever I want.”, Toni smirked.  
“I am not your property, just so that’s clear. But go on with that kissing thing.”, Cheryl said, now smirking, too. To have heard Toni calling her her girlfriend for the first time, made her nervous. But not in a bad way. Cheryl felt a tingling in her stomach and the irresistible urge to smile. Cheryl still couldn’t really believe that all of this was actually real. For such a long time, her life had been a nightmare and a mess. How probable was it that something good would finally happen? Sure, her life still was a mess, but Toni made it a little less of a nightmare. If now her mother would leave… maybe she had an actual chance for a life without all of this family drama. Of course, Cheryl loved drama (Who doesn’t?), but not if it involved herself. That simply sucked.  
“Nah, I think that’s enough Toni for you today. I don’t want to overcharge you.”, Toni teased.  
“You love teasing me, don’t you?”; Cheryl asked and rolled her eyes, trying to hide that she was actually a little frustrated that Toni didn’t give her another kiss.   
“I love teasing in general, but with you, it works particularly well. I just can’t resist it.”, she explained and chuckled at the end.Cheryl rolled her eyes again.  
“Good night, Topaz.”, she said, turned so lay on her side and closed her eyes once more, leaving Toni watching her back. 

The next morning when the two of them went downstairs for breakfast, they found no one else as Penelope Blossom already sitting in the kitchen. Penelope didn’t even bother to put down her paper as they entered and stood in front of her.  
“Still here, mother? Didn’t I make it clear you are not welcome any more?”, Cheryl asked in a fake friendly tone, as she glared at her mother. Her mother kept reading the paper. The only reaction was a sigh, coming from behind the paper.  
“I told you, Cheryl. This is not going to happen. Find someone else to annoy.”  
Cheryl looked over at Toni, unsure of what to do next. Toni decided it was her turn now to make a clear statement.  
“Miss Blossom, as you may remember from yesterday’s talk, I mentioned that I have some friend’s who are more than willing to help me out a little and if I tell them that you keep causing me trouble I am sure that they would not bother to come here and because Serpents know what being a family means and that you help each other if someone has a problem.”, Toni explained, her voice fierce and daunting. Penelope looked frightened for a short moment, but regained her cold expression quickly after.   
“You wouldn’t dare invade my home with your filthy friends”, Penelope spit. The anger raised in Toni as she heard her friends, her family, herself be insulted. She hated Penelope Blossom and if she was not going to leave, now, Toni swore that she would make it as worse for her as possible.  
“Leave until Cheryl and I are back from school or experience what it means to threaten a Serpent.”

Cheryl and Toni left for school without another word to Penelope. They hadn’t even seen them again when they had left. Toni planned on talking to Sweet Pea and Fangs at school, to warn them, that maybe this afternoon, their help was required. When she explained them the situation, she received an irritated look.  
“Since when do you care about that Blossom girl?”, Sweet Pea asked.  
“And why would she even want our help?”, Fangs added. Toni had expected them to ask.  
“Cheryl and I are closer than you might think and I care about here and therefor am not going to accept that she will be treated like shit by her own mother, so are you in or not?”  
Sweet Pea and Fangs exchanged a knowing look.   
“So you and Blossom, huh?”, Sweet Pea smirked. Toni shrugged.   
“Cool. Guess we gotta help her out, now she’s with you.”, he finally declared.   
“Good, do you think you can get the others for backup to?”, Toni asked. Sweet Pea nodded.  
“When do you need us?”, Fangs inquired.   
“After school, probably. I gave her an ultimatum. She has to leave until school finishes but I doubt she will. I just wanted to know if you were in or not.”, she explained.  
“Course we are. It’s Serpent Law. Just text us when you need us and we’ll bust through the door!”, Sweet Pea exclaimed.  
“Just don’t be too violent, we don’t want to kill her. Just threaten her enough so she will leave and won’t come back.”  
“Oh, come on. Don’t ruin the fun, Topaz.”, Sweet Pea complained.  
“No injuring or anything like that. Only threaten her or you won’t get my homework ever again.”, she demanded as she walked towards the next classroom. Sweet Pea’s eyes opened in shock.  
“That’s not fair!”, Fangs complained.  
“Then better behave yourself guys.”, Toni said before she disappeared into the room.

Cheryl was already there, sitting at her usual place during their english class.  
“Where have you been?”, she asked Toni almost as soon as she saw her walking into the room.  
“I talked to Fangs and Sweet Pea to check if I can count on them later.”, Toni explained.  
“And?”  
“They’re in.” Toni declared and then added: “Cheryl Protection Squad is ready to strike” Cheryl stared at her, not believing that Toni had actually just said that, but eventually she couldn’t help but roll her eyes and burst out in laughter.  
“God, why do you always make me feel like a helpless puppy who needs to be protected 24/7, Topaz?”, she said between laughters.  
“Because that’s what you are. You’ve suffered enough and you need to be treated better.”, Toni explained formally. “But if it makes you feel better,: just consider this as my Job as a fighter for Social Justice. It’s not the first time for me to defend my opinion.”  
“Wow, sometimes I can’t believe that you actually say the things you say.”, Cheryl added.  
Toni was just about to answer when their teacher came in and announced that all private talks should be stopped now, because the lesson was about to start. During class, Cheryl tried to stay focused but, yet again, it wasn’t possible. Not only because the lesson was boring as hell, but mostly because she couldn’t bring herself to stop thinking about her mother and Toni. Also, she couldn’t really bring herself to stop looking at Toni, who sat in front of her. She also didn’t want to stop looking at Toni, because, honestly, Toni was a lot more aesthetically pleasing than their teacher in front, or, more precisely, than anything. 

Cheryl could still not believe what had happened these last few days. It was an emotional rollercoaster. She went from feeling desperate and heart-broken to feeling happy for the first time in months, from feeling lonely to feeling like someone, even if it was only one person, cared about her; from feeling loveless to loved and from hating everything to hating everything, with a little exception. She wasn’t even sure if she deserved to be happy, at least for a while. She knew she had treated a lot of the other at school horrible and lately she had felt guilty about that a little, but, honestly, sometimes they had deserved it, but still did that justify it? She didn’t know. Cheryl decided that the best thing she could do was to just live in the moment and see how long that feeling would stay. If she had learned anything from the last year it was that you can never plan or know what is going to happen to you and that you can never, really never, expect that everything will work out fine. Her mother was the best example. After Jason’s death, Cheryl had kind of hoped that it would bring them a little closer, that her parents would care about her more and that they would want to know how she was coping with it, but instead it had driven them apart even more, and then her father died and was revealed as Jasons’s murderer and everything had gotten worse.   
Cheryl’s thoughts drifted back to her mother. She knew, the Serpents were going to help her, if her mother won’t leave Thistlehouse voluntarily, but what if that didn’t work out? She knew chances were low, that the Serpents would lose against her mother but what if? Her mother just had to leave. There was no other option, but what should she do if their plan failed…  
“Cheryl?”  
Cheryl was brought back to reality by Toni’s voice. Toni was standing in front of her, looking at her questioningly. Cheryl just now realized that the lesson was already over and everyone was about to leave.  
“Sorry. I was lost on thoughts. Did the bell already ring? I didn’t hear anything…”, she wondered.  
“Nope. We finished early. Is everything okay?”, Toni answered, looking a little concerned.  
“Yes. Everything is fine. I guess.”, Cheryl said and started to pack her books back into her bag. When she had finished packing, she stood up to stand next to Toni and looked at her.  
“Come on. It’s time to see if your mother wants her ass kicked by the Serpents”, Toni said as she reached her arm out to offer her hand to Cheryl. Cheryl took it and together they left the room.   
Cheryl had expected that people would stare at them when they saw Cheryl and Toni walking through school, but what she had not expected was that she didn’t care about it. She had expected that it would make her feel insecure and maybe uncomfortable, due to the fact that she wasn’t out to many people, but even though she felt slightly nervous it didn’t bother her. Instead, it made her feel relieved to do what she had wanted for a long time and to stop caring what others thought. Why should she care? She didn’t really have anything to do with them anyway. Most of them simply co-existed with her at this school, but that was it. She didn’t want to hear their thoughts about her relationship with Toni. She just wanted them to know, that she had a relationship with Toni so no one could have the idea that they could make a move on Toni. Cheryl was well aware of the fact that Toni had some admirers. And walking through the hall way, hand in hand with Toni, felt like a victory against them. 

When they arrived at Thistlehouse, Cheryl felt horribly nervous. She hoped that her mother would be gone, she didn’t want to have any more violence near her. But of course, her mother was still there.   
“Okay, this is enough. I’m texting Sweet Pea to come over with the others. We have to teach her a lesson.”, Toni said angrily when she saw Penelope sitting in the living room. Penelope didn’t even say anything when she had seen the two of them come in. She just sat there, motionless, waiting for them to start a conversation. But they didn’t. Both of them knew it wouldn’t lead anywhere to discuss the whole thing for a third time, so instead called for their back up immediately. Eventually, after what felt like hours of silence, Penelope began to speak:  
“So, where is your promised backup, Serpent?” , she said in a smug tone. Just as she said that, they heard motors roaring outside. The sound came closer and then abruptly stopped in front of the Blossom house. A few seconds later, there was a loud banging at the front door. Penelope looked at Toni in shock. Meanwhile, Cheryl left the living room to open the door. In front of their house stood Sweet Pea, Fangs and some other Serpent members Cheryl didn’t know.  
“I’ve heard you got a problem here?”, Sweet Pea asked.  
“Yes, the problem sits in the living room. Come in.”, Cheryl explained nervously. She knew the Serpents weren’t a danger to her, but still, seeing so many of them at her house made her nervous. Sweet Pea and the others followed her into the house and came to a stop when they saw Toni and Mrs. Blossom. Sweet Pea looked at Toni, silently asking if he should do what had been planned or of Toni wanted to say something else. Toni answered with a nod and Sweet Pea moved closer to Penelope, now standing directly in front of her.   
“So, Mrs. Blossom. I heard that you were causing some trouble here. You may have had against just the two of them but do you really think you can take all of us?”  
Penelope remained silent. She knew she had lost already, but she tried to stay confident. “This is my house and…”  
“It is not.”, Cheryl interfered. “It belongs to Nana. And Nana wants you to be gone to when she gets out of the hospital.”  
“Cheryl…”, Penelope started to say, annoyed.  
“No. Stop it, mother.”, Cheryl interfered once again. Then she looked over at Toni and Sweet Pea. “Get her out of here. Now. Do whatever is necessary.”  
Penelope’s eyes grew wide in shock as the Serpents moved closer to her and when Sweet Pea grabbed her by the arm she flinched, but of course the Serpents were stronger than her. Sweet Pea and Fangs held had each grabbed on of her arms and then led her towards the front door out of the house. Penelope tried to resist but it didn’t help. Cheryl followed them outside to see what was happening. Outside stood a black delivery van. Someone opened the side door and Sweet Pea and Fangs forced Penelope towards it. Before Penelope had to enter , the delivery van, she shot one last glare towards Cheryl, her eyes full of hate and anger.  
“This is not over, Cheryl.”, she was forced into the van and the door got closed. Cheryl stood in their driveway, feeling relieved. Sweet Pea came over and stood on front of her.   
“We’ll bring her away from her. I doubt she will come back.”, he explained.  
“Okay. Thank you.”, Cheryl answered. Sweet Pea nodded, looked over at Toni and then turned around to go back to the van. After they had driven off, it was only Cheryl and Toni left.  
“What are they going to do with her?”, Cheryl wanted to know.  
“They are bringing her to another small city near Sweetwater River and threaten her a little to stay there and never come back. At least that is what Fangs had told me they were going to do.”, she explained. Cheryl didn’t say anything to that. “You okay?”, Toni asked.  
“Yes.”, Cheryl answered, her mood finally lighting up a little. “She’s gone. That’s all I’ve wanted for the past months.”  
“So, now that you’re free, what do you want to do?”, Toni inquired, a smile on her face.


End file.
